Based on "Sister of the Road," the fictionalized autobiography of
radical and transient Bertha Thompson as written by physician Dr. Ben L.
Reitman, 'Boxcar' Bertha Thompson, a woman labor organizer in Arkansas
during the violence-filled Depression of the early '30's meets up with
rabble-rousing union man 'Big' Bill Shelly and they team up to fight the
corrupt railroad establishment and she is eventually sucked into a life
of crime with him.

Roger Corman's indirect influence on the 70s movie renaissance is often
overlooked. Many of that decade's key players served their apprenticeships
on Corman's quickies. Directors like Coppola, Bogdanovich, Bartel and Demme,
and actors like Nicholson, Hopper, Fonda, Dern, Stanton, and even De Niro.

Add Martin Scorsese to that list. 'Boxcar Bertha', his movie directly before
the breakthrough 'Mean Streets', may not display his talent in full, but it
is a surprisingly well shot and acted, and is an above average b-grade movie
with a lot of entertainment value.

Like similar Corman productions from this period ('Bloody Mama',
'Dillinger', 'Big Bad Mama') it is a Depression era look at flamboyant
criminals. An exploitation movie for sure, but exploitation with style and
class. Barbara Hershey (who would reunite with Scorsese in seriously
underrated 'The Last Temptation Of Christ') plays the title role, but the
real star of the movie is her then real life partner David Carradine ('Kung
Fu', 'Death Race 2000'), who gives a strong, charismatic performance. The
supporting cast includes blaxploitation legend Bernie Casey ('Cleopatra
Jones',etc.), Carradine's veteran character actor father John, and
Scorsese/Ferrara regular Victor Argo ('Taxi Driver', 'King Of New
York').

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